OK, a quick update before I lose all semblance of sanity. The Subject is a little dark, but we did go to the Dr. and Liberty was about status quo regarding weight. she had gained some but only about half of what is acceptable. The Dr. has a lot of experience with preemies and although we had to wait quite a bit (I was not happy about that) she was very good. We decided to wait about 48 hours and put Liberty on a strict 3 hour schedule with feeds to go no longer than 45 minutes. We'll go back in on Friday @ 1:10 and see how she's doing. If she's not progressing well they will put in a feeding tube. Bummer, but better than her not growing. Serenity has a big tummy, but I guess that's just gas related. Other than Liberty's problems eating, the doc said the girls looked really good.
So, pray for Liberty and our health and sanity. I had/have the stomach flu. I am afraid that Forrest is sick as well as he's coughing a lot. Also, with all the kids in the house if they have something it will be hard to keep them from the girls. The little ones just don't understand.
but the good news is that I got a new laptop for work :)
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tuesday, February 27, 2007
Tuesday Two-fer
by Grant
Now I understand why I find so many stupid puns on TV and in Newsprint. It's kind of fun in a "I don't get out much" sort of way. So, what's happening? Not much has gone on here. I mean, if you don't count life changing events or things like that. So, let me give you the 411 on the bouncing bambinoes.
We woke up @ 11:30, 12:30, 12:29 (yes, time did shift), and 12:30 again. After that, things got a little blurry. I was trying to sleep through the stupid alarms on the monitors (how can you feel good about taking your babies home when those stupid things are freaking out constantly?). I actually had some hospital dreams because of the noise and stress. I finally got up for good around 6:00 AM because Rebekah was ready to garrot me in my sleep. Liberty was being very slow @ eating and the time that she finished Serenity was waking up. Well, needless to say we were very tired. Around 9:00 we put thegirls back in their NICU room and went over to the Ronald McDonald House. We spent two hours cleaning our room and hauling junk out. Our Durango, which is no little midget SUV, was pretty much packed to its gills. Then we went back over to get our girls and head home. Yeah, right. (I hope you can feel the sarcasm).
Well, after awhile somebody (no idea what her (mal)function was) came in and said that Liberty had lost weight. The unspoken threat was that they may not let her come home today. I was starting to get a little agitated when she had the foresight to rapidly vacate the room. Lacking a target, my displeasure had no choice but to sink below the surface awaiting for a better chance to strike. A few minutes later the nurse that was watching our daughters tried to console me. Picture bear trap and small squirrel. Luckily, the squirrel wasn't heavy enough to cause any bloodshed.
Well, finally the Dr. came and talked to us. This was actually the Dr. that admitted the girls. So, at least we saw somebody we knew. A little unenthusiastic, but still professional and friendly. She told us that Liberty had lost weight last night, most likely because she had some feeds that were four hours apart (I don't remember a baby sleeping for four hours) and Liberty had only taken in 30 CCs. So, she said that if Liberty was by herself she'd wait, but since she was a twin and we were informed parents she would go ahead and let us go. It took her about 45 minutes to get the paperwork done and the nurse that was working on discharging us (very promptly she said because she understood) managed to wander off and get lost. Finally, seeing the steam coming out of my ears several other nurses started working. Before we were done there were 5 nurses helping (two were also helping take care of another baby). Finally, at about 1:00 (two hours from when we started) we were strapping in the girls. Unfortunately, this prevented us from running any other errands (such as purchasing diapers and the like) because we had to go straight home so that they could eat.
I stayed home from work to help take care of the girls and the boys but I ended up w/ the stomach flu. I pawned our boys off on some friends and Rebekah was able to take care of the girls. However, I am the "go to guy" for getting Liberty to eat. She doesn't like to eat much so I manhandle her until she finally drinks 45 CCs. Lots of forced sit-ups and nose and ear tickling to get her to burp and stay awake.
So, Liberty is still having trouble eating enough. Both girls are having trouble with gas, but we've started using simethicone (gas-x) preemptively and that's helped. Serenity is eating like a champ (sleeping pretty well too) but she has a very hard belly. It bothers her sometimes, but the pediatrician told us to wait until our appointment tomorrow. Since the girls are doing somewhat ok, we will impatiently wait. Hopefully we'll have more info after our appt tomorrow (4pm MST).
Please keep praying as I don't want the girls to get my sickness (Rebekah can't let me bow out from helping) or anybody elses. Also, if Liberty hasn't gained weight they may want to put a feeding tube in her again. Not the end of the world, but frustrating.
Rebekah is too occupied to blog right now, but hopefully she can get a routine down soon.
Now I understand why I find so many stupid puns on TV and in Newsprint. It's kind of fun in a "I don't get out much" sort of way. So, what's happening? Not much has gone on here. I mean, if you don't count life changing events or things like that. So, let me give you the 411 on the bouncing bambinoes.
We woke up @ 11:30, 12:30, 12:29 (yes, time did shift), and 12:30 again. After that, things got a little blurry. I was trying to sleep through the stupid alarms on the monitors (how can you feel good about taking your babies home when those stupid things are freaking out constantly?). I actually had some hospital dreams because of the noise and stress. I finally got up for good around 6:00 AM because Rebekah was ready to garrot me in my sleep. Liberty was being very slow @ eating and the time that she finished Serenity was waking up. Well, needless to say we were very tired. Around 9:00 we put thegirls back in their NICU room and went over to the Ronald McDonald House. We spent two hours cleaning our room and hauling junk out. Our Durango, which is no little midget SUV, was pretty much packed to its gills. Then we went back over to get our girls and head home. Yeah, right. (I hope you can feel the sarcasm).
Well, after awhile somebody (no idea what her (mal)function was) came in and said that Liberty had lost weight. The unspoken threat was that they may not let her come home today. I was starting to get a little agitated when she had the foresight to rapidly vacate the room. Lacking a target, my displeasure had no choice but to sink below the surface awaiting for a better chance to strike. A few minutes later the nurse that was watching our daughters tried to console me. Picture bear trap and small squirrel. Luckily, the squirrel wasn't heavy enough to cause any bloodshed.
Well, finally the Dr. came and talked to us. This was actually the Dr. that admitted the girls. So, at least we saw somebody we knew. A little unenthusiastic, but still professional and friendly. She told us that Liberty had lost weight last night, most likely because she had some feeds that were four hours apart (I don't remember a baby sleeping for four hours) and Liberty had only taken in 30 CCs. So, she said that if Liberty was by herself she'd wait, but since she was a twin and we were informed parents she would go ahead and let us go. It took her about 45 minutes to get the paperwork done and the nurse that was working on discharging us (very promptly she said because she understood) managed to wander off and get lost. Finally, seeing the steam coming out of my ears several other nurses started working. Before we were done there were 5 nurses helping (two were also helping take care of another baby). Finally, at about 1:00 (two hours from when we started) we were strapping in the girls. Unfortunately, this prevented us from running any other errands (such as purchasing diapers and the like) because we had to go straight home so that they could eat.
I stayed home from work to help take care of the girls and the boys but I ended up w/ the stomach flu. I pawned our boys off on some friends and Rebekah was able to take care of the girls. However, I am the "go to guy" for getting Liberty to eat. She doesn't like to eat much so I manhandle her until she finally drinks 45 CCs. Lots of forced sit-ups and nose and ear tickling to get her to burp and stay awake.
So, Liberty is still having trouble eating enough. Both girls are having trouble with gas, but we've started using simethicone (gas-x) preemptively and that's helped. Serenity is eating like a champ (sleeping pretty well too) but she has a very hard belly. It bothers her sometimes, but the pediatrician told us to wait until our appointment tomorrow. Since the girls are doing somewhat ok, we will impatiently wait. Hopefully we'll have more info after our appt tomorrow (4pm MST).
Please keep praying as I don't want the girls to get my sickness (Rebekah can't let me bow out from helping) or anybody elses. Also, if Liberty hasn't gained weight they may want to put a feeding tube in her again. Not the end of the world, but frustrating.
Rebekah is too occupied to blog right now, but hopefully she can get a routine down soon.
rooming in
Originally posted on myspace Saturday night.
by Grant
i'm punching this in via my cellphone so it'll be short. We are here @ the hospital in a little hotel type room. We have the babies with us. so far it's been really nice. they've been fairly quiet & we've finally fed both of them. we need to get them on a similar schedule for Rebekah's sake. right now they are over an hour apart. I'm not sure when we will have the next update, but we'll try not to make you wait too long. as far as the blog future, as long as people are interested & we stay on top of it, then we'll keep it going. Otherwise, I will put it down with extreme prejudice (one of my pet peeves is languishing blogs).
Friday, February 23, 2007
Extra, Extra, Read all about it!
by Grant
We have an unusual accumulation of frozen water that is atypical for this time of year. It descended from the sky whilst we slept covering everything in its path. What do you mean this isn't that unusual? What? Snow it's called? Isn't snow only during the winter? What do you mean it's still winter? Ok, everybody false alarm.
Wait, wait, we have breaking news on the baby front. We have a report from the mother named Rebekah that the birds will be able to fly the coop on Sunday. I repeat, the eagles will land on the first day of the coming week. What do you mean you don't know what I'm talking about? Oh, uhm, I guess Rebekah was told that if we take over a car seat today, and room in tomorrow night then we can take the girls home Sunday. Pretty exciting stuff huh?
We have an unusual accumulation of frozen water that is atypical for this time of year. It descended from the sky whilst we slept covering everything in its path. What do you mean this isn't that unusual? What? Snow it's called? Isn't snow only during the winter? What do you mean it's still winter? Ok, everybody false alarm.
Wait, wait, we have breaking news on the baby front. We have a report from the mother named Rebekah that the birds will be able to fly the coop on Sunday. I repeat, the eagles will land on the first day of the coming week. What do you mean you don't know what I'm talking about? Oh, uhm, I guess Rebekah was told that if we take over a car seat today, and room in tomorrow night then we can take the girls home Sunday. Pretty exciting stuff huh?
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Liberty wide awake
by Grant
Here's a video of Liberty from today. Wide awake. It was a really neat time today because she got her bath and then I got to feed her. She was wide awake the whole time. It was really neat to actually interact with her instead of her just zoning out. I generally cajole her to try to get to drink as much as possible. I entice her with promises of milkshakes and 1lb hamburgers when she gets out of the hospital. Speaking of 1lb burgers, see below:
Only $12.99. Please notice that the burger is the size of the plate. And no, it's not a baby plate, but rather a normal sized plate. In the background is the basket full of fries. A normal size basket. So, you can see that the burger is actually quite large. I had to cut the burger like a pie (into 4ths) so I could eat it. Tasty little thing.
Anyway, back to Liberty. I took this video with my pda phone. The nurse was fascinated with it. The phone. I am always surprised when a female expresses interest in technology. Not sure why. Probably because I am a sexist or something. Once again, moving back to Liberty. I took the video sideways because that was the best angle, but unfortunately haven't had time to turn it. If you watch closely, you'll see her sneeze in it. No sound, but still probably the best video I've taken.
And, for good measure I included this picture. I don't remember if I posted this before, but I really like it. If you're a sports fan, then this is how Liberty acted when she heard BSU won the fiesta bowl. If you're a craft making afficionado, then this is her reacting to the opening of a new Jo-Anns, if you're into technology then this is what she did when Windows Vista came out. I personally prefer that this is how she reacted to hearing that they were going home soon.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Excuses, excuses
by Grant
My wife, what a slacker. Helping me watch the kids over the weekend. Going up to the hospital repeatedly throughout the day to attempt to nurse some zoned out wee ones, doing miscellaneous tasks that I "delegate" to her, soothing a fragile male ego and she can't find time to post a blog. Well, I'll have a talk to her. I know the Moms and Moms-in-laws rely on this blog for their dose of info. And I don't know about you, but if you've ever seen a Mom (or Mom-in-law) when they haven't had their regular grandbaby fix, it's not a pretty sight. Think, Hiroshima post nuclear devastation. I myself lost my eyebrows on January 1 simply because I was slow sending pictures out. Imagine my selfishness, focusing on newborn premature baby girls and my sliced, but not diced, wife. Men, I tell ya.
In other Grant news (hey, I figure you're interested in the progenitor of the little ones too) I was not feeling very good on Sunday night so Monday I stayed home. I slept. And slept. and woke up and took vitamins. And slept. and woke up and checked my e-mail on my phone. then I wrote an e-mail via my phone. Then I put in ear plugs. Then I slept. and slept.
And you know what? Today (That's tuesday) my tooth hurt (like normal), my back hurt (like normal), my wrists hurt (like a little), and I was a cheery, friendly guy. That is a scary thought even to me my friends. It was probably just a fluke that I finally got enough sleep and felt like a normal person.
Baby stuff:
Ok, these guys have got to be coming home soon. Rebekah is spending the night @ the hospital. They usually don't do that until the little ones are on their way out. Also, they're doing really well without the caffeine. so that's great. So once they get the bottle down consistently they can come home. In the meantime we have to get to a CPR class so we can do some chest thumping if necessary.
It's been 7 weeks for Pete's sake. We were told 6-8 weeks so if it's more I want my money back.
My wife, what a slacker. Helping me watch the kids over the weekend. Going up to the hospital repeatedly throughout the day to attempt to nurse some zoned out wee ones, doing miscellaneous tasks that I "delegate" to her, soothing a fragile male ego and she can't find time to post a blog. Well, I'll have a talk to her. I know the Moms and Moms-in-laws rely on this blog for their dose of info. And I don't know about you, but if you've ever seen a Mom (or Mom-in-law) when they haven't had their regular grandbaby fix, it's not a pretty sight. Think, Hiroshima post nuclear devastation. I myself lost my eyebrows on January 1 simply because I was slow sending pictures out. Imagine my selfishness, focusing on newborn premature baby girls and my sliced, but not diced, wife. Men, I tell ya.
In other Grant news (hey, I figure you're interested in the progenitor of the little ones too) I was not feeling very good on Sunday night so Monday I stayed home. I slept. And slept. and woke up and took vitamins. And slept. and woke up and checked my e-mail on my phone. then I wrote an e-mail via my phone. Then I put in ear plugs. Then I slept. and slept.
And you know what? Today (That's tuesday) my tooth hurt (like normal), my back hurt (like normal), my wrists hurt (like a little), and I was a cheery, friendly guy. That is a scary thought even to me my friends. It was probably just a fluke that I finally got enough sleep and felt like a normal person.
Baby stuff:
Ok, these guys have got to be coming home soon. Rebekah is spending the night @ the hospital. They usually don't do that until the little ones are on their way out. Also, they're doing really well without the caffeine. so that's great. So once they get the bottle down consistently they can come home. In the meantime we have to get to a CPR class so we can do some chest thumping if necessary.
It's been 7 weeks for Pete's sake. We were told 6-8 weeks so if it's more I want my money back.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Saturday update
by Grant
I brought the kids down to see Rebekah. Needless to say, this is typically rather bitter sweet. Fun to have them around but very trying at times when they don't obey. On the way down I stopped at Costco to buy Rebekah something. Not sure why, but I thought I'd see if something jumped out at me. Nothing did, so I kept going up and down aisles until something glanced my way and then I clubbed it! I actually ended up buying the movie "When Harry met Sally," because once you get past that one scene it's a very good movie that shows how it's basically impossible for two people to be members of the opposite sex and just be "friends." Oh, I know that there are probably some women out there who say that I'm wrong and they have lots of friends that are guys, but my response is that no, they know lots of guys that "say" that they just want to be friends. But I digress. While at Costco, I was resisting my children's urgings to buy various and sundry items ranging from $15 to multiple hundreds, when I came upon a 3D kite. Pretty darn cool. I've been meaning to buy a kite, and this was a good chance. Very cool kite for $10. Of course, when we went to go fly it there wasn't enough wind to keep it aloft for more than 30 seconds. But, a homeless guy complimented us on it and if you can't trust the homeless for an honest opinion, then who can you trust?
After that we came back to the RMH let the kids play for awhile and then prepared for battle (naptime). I'm sure that some parents who are reading this have all sorts of advice on what we're doing wrong. If so, I am willing to listen. But so far, it's pretty darn hard to be consistent when the kid doesn't see you more than a few times in a week (if that). I think that this gives me a little bit of insight on how hard it would be on the entire family in the event of divorce. Not us of course. Rebekah and I agreed that nobody is getting out of our marriage alive. If I want to run off with some floozy, then I'd better hope that she (the floozy) likes dead guys cause there ain't gonna be a divorce. Likewise, if Rebekah finds some loving caring guy that is sensitive and meets her needs and she wants a divorce, then I hope she can run faster than a bullet.
Baby updates:
Liberty has had one major spell while eating and Serenity has had two. It concerns us, but not the docs. So, we keep moving forward.
Also, They (el Docotorinos) have taken them (le bambinos) off caffeine. We'll see how the spells go. Caffeine can stay in their system for several days, so it'll be a little while until we know how they're gonna do. I know I wouldn't do very well off of caffeine.
I brought the kids down to see Rebekah. Needless to say, this is typically rather bitter sweet. Fun to have them around but very trying at times when they don't obey. On the way down I stopped at Costco to buy Rebekah something. Not sure why, but I thought I'd see if something jumped out at me. Nothing did, so I kept going up and down aisles until something glanced my way and then I clubbed it! I actually ended up buying the movie "When Harry met Sally," because once you get past that one scene it's a very good movie that shows how it's basically impossible for two people to be members of the opposite sex and just be "friends." Oh, I know that there are probably some women out there who say that I'm wrong and they have lots of friends that are guys, but my response is that no, they know lots of guys that "say" that they just want to be friends. But I digress. While at Costco, I was resisting my children's urgings to buy various and sundry items ranging from $15 to multiple hundreds, when I came upon a 3D kite. Pretty darn cool. I've been meaning to buy a kite, and this was a good chance. Very cool kite for $10. Of course, when we went to go fly it there wasn't enough wind to keep it aloft for more than 30 seconds. But, a homeless guy complimented us on it and if you can't trust the homeless for an honest opinion, then who can you trust?
After that we came back to the RMH let the kids play for awhile and then prepared for battle (naptime). I'm sure that some parents who are reading this have all sorts of advice on what we're doing wrong. If so, I am willing to listen. But so far, it's pretty darn hard to be consistent when the kid doesn't see you more than a few times in a week (if that). I think that this gives me a little bit of insight on how hard it would be on the entire family in the event of divorce. Not us of course. Rebekah and I agreed that nobody is getting out of our marriage alive. If I want to run off with some floozy, then I'd better hope that she (the floozy) likes dead guys cause there ain't gonna be a divorce. Likewise, if Rebekah finds some loving caring guy that is sensitive and meets her needs and she wants a divorce, then I hope she can run faster than a bullet.
Baby updates:
Liberty has had one major spell while eating and Serenity has had two. It concerns us, but not the docs. So, we keep moving forward.
Also, They (el Docotorinos) have taken them (le bambinos) off caffeine. We'll see how the spells go. Caffeine can stay in their system for several days, so it'll be a little while until we know how they're gonna do. I know I wouldn't do very well off of caffeine.
Friday, February 16, 2007
Stuff and more
by Grant
It being thanksgiving (Update: Valentine's. Of course, I think that's what it is. Giving thanks for your sweetheart, spouse, lover, ball & chain, soulcrusher, etc.) week and all it was even a little more hectic than normal. I took Rebekah to a nice restaurant downtown on Tuesday night to avoid the rush. I love downtown (not). We go to this restaurant and all the parking says that it's not for the restaurant. Then we spy a sign that says that we're ok after 5. Then as we pull in to find a space, we see signs that say 20 minute parking only. Who are we to believe. We figured we were ok, but the last thing that I needed was to come out to find our Durango had been towed. We asked the host inside, and apparently we're ok unless we parked in the spot w/ the big yellow sign that said no parking. I'll take drive through @ Burger King any day. Dinner was good, albeit very expensive. Of course, we're so exhausted from life in general that all we did was drive around to kill time before we went to see the girls.
The next day I had to take a little easier because my arms and wrists started hurting again (carpal-tunnel syndrome) but around 2:00 we got a call from the from desk telling us that they had a donation of two spots for a sleigh ride/dinner with Bogus Creek outfitters. Well, we scurried around and went and bought some jackets @ Deseret Industries so we wouldn't freeze to death and then we made the long trek up the mountain. I think Boise is around 1500 feet above see level and bogus is over 6000. We got there and waited in a "lodge' (not really a comfortable spot, but indoors) and then we got on the sleigh. The sleigh took us 1 mile back into the mountains where they had a temporary building. It was nice, rustic, and generally cold. But they hot chocolate, a wood stove, and some loud music to warm us up. We were fed pretty well and it was a generally entertaining time. Of course, once we were done we had to drive back down bogus in the dark which is curvy and steep. I told Rebekah I'd try not to scare her, but I failed.
Thursday Keren and Nathan came down for an MRI for his noggin. With kids it's harder because they have to knock 'em out so they'll stay still.
Today, friday, I'm back @ Fruitland worse for the wear. Tired as I didn't sleep good in Boise and Forrest climbed into bed w/ me early this morning. He slept pretty well, but I didn't.
Rebekah and I just talked and I guess the nurse pushed Serenity a little too hard on her bottle feeding and her vitals dropped really bad. Makes me pretty annoyed. They (the NICU people) want to get us out the door, which is good, but frustrating. The physical Therapist told us not to push the babies too hard because if they had a bad experience, then they wouldn't want the bottle again. I know the NICU nurses have lots of training, but sometimes I don't think that they are on the same page as we are.
It being thanksgiving (Update: Valentine's. Of course, I think that's what it is. Giving thanks for your sweetheart, spouse, lover, ball & chain, soulcrusher, etc.) week and all it was even a little more hectic than normal. I took Rebekah to a nice restaurant downtown on Tuesday night to avoid the rush. I love downtown (not). We go to this restaurant and all the parking says that it's not for the restaurant. Then we spy a sign that says that we're ok after 5. Then as we pull in to find a space, we see signs that say 20 minute parking only. Who are we to believe. We figured we were ok, but the last thing that I needed was to come out to find our Durango had been towed. We asked the host inside, and apparently we're ok unless we parked in the spot w/ the big yellow sign that said no parking. I'll take drive through @ Burger King any day. Dinner was good, albeit very expensive. Of course, we're so exhausted from life in general that all we did was drive around to kill time before we went to see the girls.
The next day I had to take a little easier because my arms and wrists started hurting again (carpal-tunnel syndrome) but around 2:00 we got a call from the from desk telling us that they had a donation of two spots for a sleigh ride/dinner with Bogus Creek outfitters. Well, we scurried around and went and bought some jackets @ Deseret Industries so we wouldn't freeze to death and then we made the long trek up the mountain. I think Boise is around 1500 feet above see level and bogus is over 6000. We got there and waited in a "lodge' (not really a comfortable spot, but indoors) and then we got on the sleigh. The sleigh took us 1 mile back into the mountains where they had a temporary building. It was nice, rustic, and generally cold. But they hot chocolate, a wood stove, and some loud music to warm us up. We were fed pretty well and it was a generally entertaining time. Of course, once we were done we had to drive back down bogus in the dark which is curvy and steep. I told Rebekah I'd try not to scare her, but I failed.
Thursday Keren and Nathan came down for an MRI for his noggin. With kids it's harder because they have to knock 'em out so they'll stay still.
Today, friday, I'm back @ Fruitland worse for the wear. Tired as I didn't sleep good in Boise and Forrest climbed into bed w/ me early this morning. He slept pretty well, but I didn't.
Rebekah and I just talked and I guess the nurse pushed Serenity a little too hard on her bottle feeding and her vitals dropped really bad. Makes me pretty annoyed. They (the NICU people) want to get us out the door, which is good, but frustrating. The physical Therapist told us not to push the babies too hard because if they had a bad experience, then they wouldn't want the bottle again. I know the NICU nurses have lots of training, but sometimes I don't think that they are on the same page as we are.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Videos for Grandmas
by Grant
Forrest & Titus going down slide
Forrest on rope ladder
Titus & Forrest Saying "Hi"
Forrest & Titus going down slide
Forrest on rope ladder
Titus & Forrest Saying "Hi"
Stuff for Grandmas
by Grant
Not baby related, but is kid related. This weekend when the boys were down here I took them outside and they had a lot of fun playing. The play yard here is great. Lots of neat stuff with a fenced in area so I don't have to worry too much. Although Forrest did open a wrough-iron gate. At least he'll listen to me some. Titus likes to ignore me. Hard to correct him out in public.
Titus & the yard
Titus on play-thingy
Forrest looking Deceptively
cute and innocent
4WD just means you get stuck worse
The prisoner caught @ the gate.
See how he smiles disarmingly?
Not baby related, but is kid related. This weekend when the boys were down here I took them outside and they had a lot of fun playing. The play yard here is great. Lots of neat stuff with a fenced in area so I don't have to worry too much. Although Forrest did open a wrough-iron gate. At least he'll listen to me some. Titus likes to ignore me. Hard to correct him out in public.
Titus & the yard
Titus on play-thingy
Forrest looking Deceptively
cute and innocent
4WD just means you get stuck worse
The prisoner caught @ the gate.
See how he smiles disarmingly?
Update
by Grant
Sorry for the lack of updates. It's been a combination of not a lot a news plus being busier with the babies and busier for me at work. We're migrating Fruitland (our largest site) from one Network Operating system/e-mail system to a totally different one. I am on the hook for a lot of techniques used to migrate users and have to be available to support them when they call. The good news is I'm not at work every day of the migration, the bad news is that I work every day of the migration. Normally that's not too big a deal, but it wears on you. It's hard to really relax. Rebekah has been trying to spend more time with the babies nursing them, etc. in the hopes that they can come home soon.
We've been fortunate enough to have the same nurse for the past week. Her name is Hetty which is short for <name I can't spell and would mangle the pronunciation>. I was very interested in her accent which was fairly strong. But Hetty is a grandmother type (the sternish kind) and I was a little afraid of how to ask it tactfully. Where are you from usually yields something like "Meridian." So, then you say, "No, I mean originally." Then they say "Chicago." Then it gets awkward and you say, "who's side were you on during World War II?" Thankfully, I asked her about her name and then asked what the origination was. I knew her accent was european, but the name didn't seem germanic. Interestingly enough, it was dutch. Which I think that's what my ancestors were. I'll ask my mom to be sure. Hetty is neat and she's the only person so far that had any interest in other children's names. Her husband sounds like my dad. He can't be bothered to read fictional books. Of course, I gave my Dad one of the best non-fiiction books of all time to read (3 years ago was it?) and he can't bring himself to pick it up because there are no Krauts in it. Not sure if that's a nostalgia reason or what. Things were better back then I know, what with Polio and the holocaust and the like :)
BTW, Polio is not that game where you hit the ball with a mallet (whilst riding some four-legged beast).
Anyway, Hetty made some cute thingy with the girls footprints on it. Rebekah told me what it was and I saw it, but I'm not quite sure what it's called. I'll let Rebekah do that.
Update on the girls...
They are still girls. They're still brunettes. They're still identical. They're still babies. hmmm... what else?
Both gaining weight ok. I guess their spells are improving (fewer and farther between). They're doing good on the bottle, but still being supplemented through the tube. Nothing earth shattering, which is good.
Rebekah and I were taken out to eat yesterday (business lunch) by a friend of mine (who is doing some consulting work for my company and me). He had a daughter born @ 23 weeks so he is very aware of what we're going through. We had a good talk about a lot of stuff. His daughter's bill was $1.3 million. We're not quite that bad yet. But he was very fortunate because his insurance company and medicaid took care of all expenses until the girls were home. Of course, he still had large expenses after that but the largest bulk was taken care of. He was in a different state at the time and his circumstances were different so we probably won't be that lucky, but we can hope and pray right?
Rebekah had a Dr.'s appt today. I can't believe how many people just expect Rebekah to have gotten her tubes tied. It's starting to annoy me. Everybody expects that we'll quit @ 2 boys and 2 girls. 2 all. Score is tied. Don't you think we need the best 3 out of 5 at least? Maybe best 4 out of 7?
Hey, is anybody interested in my story about the 1lb. burger?
Sorry for the lack of updates. It's been a combination of not a lot a news plus being busier with the babies and busier for me at work. We're migrating Fruitland (our largest site) from one Network Operating system/e-mail system to a totally different one. I am on the hook for a lot of techniques used to migrate users and have to be available to support them when they call. The good news is I'm not at work every day of the migration, the bad news is that I work every day of the migration. Normally that's not too big a deal, but it wears on you. It's hard to really relax. Rebekah has been trying to spend more time with the babies nursing them, etc. in the hopes that they can come home soon.
We've been fortunate enough to have the same nurse for the past week. Her name is Hetty which is short for <name I can't spell and would mangle the pronunciation>. I was very interested in her accent which was fairly strong. But Hetty is a grandmother type (the sternish kind) and I was a little afraid of how to ask it tactfully. Where are you from usually yields something like "Meridian." So, then you say, "No, I mean originally." Then they say "Chicago." Then it gets awkward and you say, "who's side were you on during World War II?" Thankfully, I asked her about her name and then asked what the origination was. I knew her accent was european, but the name didn't seem germanic. Interestingly enough, it was dutch. Which I think that's what my ancestors were. I'll ask my mom to be sure. Hetty is neat and she's the only person so far that had any interest in other children's names. Her husband sounds like my dad. He can't be bothered to read fictional books. Of course, I gave my Dad one of the best non-fiiction books of all time to read (3 years ago was it?) and he can't bring himself to pick it up because there are no Krauts in it. Not sure if that's a nostalgia reason or what. Things were better back then I know, what with Polio and the holocaust and the like :)
BTW, Polio is not that game where you hit the ball with a mallet (whilst riding some four-legged beast).
Anyway, Hetty made some cute thingy with the girls footprints on it. Rebekah told me what it was and I saw it, but I'm not quite sure what it's called. I'll let Rebekah do that.
Update on the girls...
They are still girls. They're still brunettes. They're still identical. They're still babies. hmmm... what else?
Both gaining weight ok. I guess their spells are improving (fewer and farther between). They're doing good on the bottle, but still being supplemented through the tube. Nothing earth shattering, which is good.
Rebekah and I were taken out to eat yesterday (business lunch) by a friend of mine (who is doing some consulting work for my company and me). He had a daughter born @ 23 weeks so he is very aware of what we're going through. We had a good talk about a lot of stuff. His daughter's bill was $1.3 million. We're not quite that bad yet. But he was very fortunate because his insurance company and medicaid took care of all expenses until the girls were home. Of course, he still had large expenses after that but the largest bulk was taken care of. He was in a different state at the time and his circumstances were different so we probably won't be that lucky, but we can hope and pray right?
Rebekah had a Dr.'s appt today. I can't believe how many people just expect Rebekah to have gotten her tubes tied. It's starting to annoy me. Everybody expects that we'll quit @ 2 boys and 2 girls. 2 all. Score is tied. Don't you think we need the best 3 out of 5 at least? Maybe best 4 out of 7?
Hey, is anybody interested in my story about the 1lb. burger?
Saturday, February 10, 2007
general bloginess
by Grant
One of the things that I like about blogging is that it's what we technical types like to call "pull" content. If you are interested, then you must seek out the website. If you are only mildly interested, then you'll hit it once a week (or month) just to check in on the situation. Or, if you're like like some guys you won't even bother with it at all, you'll just figure that if something was important you'd hear about it some how. I generally take that attitude so I am not offended if someone doesn't check the blog every day (or at all). My goal is to have one post a day on the main myspace blog and close to that on my own blog. But please do me a favor and don't ask me some deep and involved question like "How are the girls doing?" and expect something more than "ok." Those of you who have been following the situation will have realized by now that there's tons of nuances (that's a word that was once used to describe John Kerry). So, don't feel any obligation to read this blog, but also don't expect me to regurgitate verbally everything that I painstakingly pen in black & white just because you're making polite chit-chat, ok? Sorry, I've been reading a book by Dennis Miller and he definitely doesn't pull any punches. This post actually came out as more of a diatribe than an FYI, but hey, nobody's holding a gun to your head and making you read it. If somebody is, then that means terrorists have found another weapon of mass destruction. Or deduction. Or something that rhymes with "uction."
I have now heard that at least two readers find the medical side of these blogs interesting as they consider a future career path in the always burgeoning field of medicine. Well, health care is a good way to go. It's a "growth industry" as they say. That and the mortuary business. But anyway, I digress. The NICU nurses have all been very good. I haven't disliked a single one for any good reason. Usually, I am frustrated because they don't know who I am. But as far as health care, it looks like a really neat job if you like taking care of helpless mammals. It's probably easier to become a NICU nurse than a vet (why on earth do you have to go to school for 7 years just to put down some animal?). Now, if on the off-chance you're a NICU nurse and take issue with that statement, then I want you to keep something in mind. I don't care. If you happen to be a vet (the animal kind, not the shooting guns kind) then once again, I don't care. If you think that this drivel is a waste of time and space then please know that you're right. Sorry for the bad attitude, I haven't gotten a lot of sleep in the past 3.5 years. Being a NICU nurse would be "neat" frequently but frustrating and heartbreaking at other times. How are you going to handle finding out that the babies that you just spent six 12 hour days taking care of died the first day you were off shift? Or, how about the parents that really aren't that involved in what's going on and don't really care? Or how would you like to stand for 12 hours? And remember, there is diaper changing in there. Of course, the pay is a little better than you got as a babysitter. Did I mention I was sleep deprived? Uhm, I guess if you have any questions about the duties of a NICU nurse or would like me to take a poll of the nurses about job satisfaction, let me know.
One of the things that I like about blogging is that it's what we technical types like to call "pull" content. If you are interested, then you must seek out the website. If you are only mildly interested, then you'll hit it once a week (or month) just to check in on the situation. Or, if you're like like some guys you won't even bother with it at all, you'll just figure that if something was important you'd hear about it some how. I generally take that attitude so I am not offended if someone doesn't check the blog every day (or at all). My goal is to have one post a day on the main myspace blog and close to that on my own blog. But please do me a favor and don't ask me some deep and involved question like "How are the girls doing?" and expect something more than "ok." Those of you who have been following the situation will have realized by now that there's tons of nuances (that's a word that was once used to describe John Kerry). So, don't feel any obligation to read this blog, but also don't expect me to regurgitate verbally everything that I painstakingly pen in black & white just because you're making polite chit-chat, ok? Sorry, I've been reading a book by Dennis Miller and he definitely doesn't pull any punches. This post actually came out as more of a diatribe than an FYI, but hey, nobody's holding a gun to your head and making you read it. If somebody is, then that means terrorists have found another weapon of mass destruction. Or deduction. Or something that rhymes with "uction."
I have now heard that at least two readers find the medical side of these blogs interesting as they consider a future career path in the always burgeoning field of medicine. Well, health care is a good way to go. It's a "growth industry" as they say. That and the mortuary business. But anyway, I digress. The NICU nurses have all been very good. I haven't disliked a single one for any good reason. Usually, I am frustrated because they don't know who I am. But as far as health care, it looks like a really neat job if you like taking care of helpless mammals. It's probably easier to become a NICU nurse than a vet (why on earth do you have to go to school for 7 years just to put down some animal?). Now, if on the off-chance you're a NICU nurse and take issue with that statement, then I want you to keep something in mind. I don't care. If you happen to be a vet (the animal kind, not the shooting guns kind) then once again, I don't care. If you think that this drivel is a waste of time and space then please know that you're right. Sorry for the bad attitude, I haven't gotten a lot of sleep in the past 3.5 years. Being a NICU nurse would be "neat" frequently but frustrating and heartbreaking at other times. How are you going to handle finding out that the babies that you just spent six 12 hour days taking care of died the first day you were off shift? Or, how about the parents that really aren't that involved in what's going on and don't really care? Or how would you like to stand for 12 hours? And remember, there is diaper changing in there. Of course, the pay is a little better than you got as a babysitter. Did I mention I was sleep deprived? Uhm, I guess if you have any questions about the duties of a NICU nurse or would like me to take a poll of the nurses about job satisfaction, let me know.
The formal crib-ening
by Grant
I came down on tuesday night (as I believe I mentioned earlier) and happened to time it just perfectly so that I could (or rather we) could move the girls into cribs. Although now they are in one crib rather than two, this was the formal ceremony. In fact, we're going to have the cribs bronzed in honor of this day.
Liberty's Pre-Crib ceremony (Peformed by the mother formally known as Rebekah)
The Cribinator (Rebekah) in motion
Liberty's formal Crib-ening
Post Crib-ening wrap-up (get it?)
Serenity being announcedby the Grant Marshall (get it?)
)
"he eyes the crib, biding his time
"
"he shoots, he scores!"
No collateral damage.Serenity sleeps peacefully.
Final comments: yes, the puns were bad, but you get what you pay for. We got the bill for the girls for January... Yeah, we're gonna make this a subscriber site :)
Thursday, February 8, 2007
A couple of videos
by Grant
It can be really hard to get any pictures or videos of quality because the room is so dim (so as not to hurt their eyes). And most of the time that I go up they are sleeping. A video of a sleeping baby is really not too exciting. In fact, it resembles a fuzzy picture quite closely.
S. being put back together
Sisters, Sisters
There were never such devoted sisters
It can be really hard to get any pictures or videos of quality because the room is so dim (so as not to hurt their eyes). And most of the time that I go up they are sleeping. A video of a sleeping baby is really not too exciting. In fact, it resembles a fuzzy picture quite closely.
S. being put back together
Sisters, Sisters
There were never such devoted sisters
The History (as I remember)
by Grant
As time passes memories fade. I've been meaning to write a blog entry about the beginning of our experience with the girls. A long long time ago, in a womb far far away we found out that Rebekah was pregnant. Now, at the time it was pretty darn obvious since her tummy was sticking so far out. We took a road trip out to Michigan where Rebekah had to endure multiple comments of "You're not due until when?!" So, it was with some relief (in a small way) that when she went to the Dr. that she found out she was pregnant with twins. Of course, any relief about her size was quickly overwhelmed with feelings of panic. But while she was there they also discovered that there was no membrane between the babies. This meant that they were at a high risk for cord entanglement and as one Dr. called it, "spontaneous terminations" Talk about a term that makes you sick to your stomach. The doc also told us that there was a 50% chance that we would lose at least one of the babies. With that, they booted Rebekah out the door (after setting up an appt. w/ a specialist in Boise). Needless to say, we were semi-paralyzed with trepidation. The next few months we endured bi-weekly Dr. visits with ultrasounds every time. We virtually never had the same Dr. (as our Dr. was always busy) and even had a fun (not) experience with one doc telling us (very pleasantly) that it looked like there was a very serious problem. But once Rebekah emptied her bladder, he found out all was well. My feelings towards him were not too kindly for awhile after that. Rebekah finally went into the hospital for monitoring (in case the babies were having problems they could do an emergent c-section) @ 28 weeks. Less than one week later, the babies started having problems, but after a day they smoothed out. Almost exactly one week after that, they started having problems again and they were delivered one day shy of 31 weeks. The Dr. on-call at the time was Dr. Blea. One thing that was very good about this man was that he was confident and understanding. We weren't sure what was different this time rather than the last time (the previous week) but he helped me to understand and his confidence made a difficult decision much easier. I also felt like we made the decision, rather than him telling us what to do.
The babies were born in the afternoon and a nurse thankfully took a bunch of pictures for us with our camera. And Dr. Blea was right, there was a serious knot in their two cords (there's a picture on the myspace page). Thankfully Rebekah recovered rapidly (although they had to use a "shoehorn" to get her bladder back in) and the babies did really well (not even needing to be intubated.) The next day however, they had worn their little lungs out and the tubes went in. Rebekah got out of the hospital after four days and moved directly over to the Ronald McDonald house. And that (hopefully) brings the story up to where we started blogging.
As time passes memories fade. I've been meaning to write a blog entry about the beginning of our experience with the girls. A long long time ago, in a womb far far away we found out that Rebekah was pregnant. Now, at the time it was pretty darn obvious since her tummy was sticking so far out. We took a road trip out to Michigan where Rebekah had to endure multiple comments of "You're not due until when?!" So, it was with some relief (in a small way) that when she went to the Dr. that she found out she was pregnant with twins. Of course, any relief about her size was quickly overwhelmed with feelings of panic. But while she was there they also discovered that there was no membrane between the babies. This meant that they were at a high risk for cord entanglement and as one Dr. called it, "spontaneous terminations" Talk about a term that makes you sick to your stomach. The doc also told us that there was a 50% chance that we would lose at least one of the babies. With that, they booted Rebekah out the door (after setting up an appt. w/ a specialist in Boise). Needless to say, we were semi-paralyzed with trepidation. The next few months we endured bi-weekly Dr. visits with ultrasounds every time. We virtually never had the same Dr. (as our Dr. was always busy) and even had a fun (not) experience with one doc telling us (very pleasantly) that it looked like there was a very serious problem. But once Rebekah emptied her bladder, he found out all was well. My feelings towards him were not too kindly for awhile after that. Rebekah finally went into the hospital for monitoring (in case the babies were having problems they could do an emergent c-section) @ 28 weeks. Less than one week later, the babies started having problems, but after a day they smoothed out. Almost exactly one week after that, they started having problems again and they were delivered one day shy of 31 weeks. The Dr. on-call at the time was Dr. Blea. One thing that was very good about this man was that he was confident and understanding. We weren't sure what was different this time rather than the last time (the previous week) but he helped me to understand and his confidence made a difficult decision much easier. I also felt like we made the decision, rather than him telling us what to do.
The babies were born in the afternoon and a nurse thankfully took a bunch of pictures for us with our camera. And Dr. Blea was right, there was a serious knot in their two cords (there's a picture on the myspace page). Thankfully Rebekah recovered rapidly (although they had to use a "shoehorn" to get her bladder back in) and the babies did really well (not even needing to be intubated.) The next day however, they had worn their little lungs out and the tubes went in. Rebekah got out of the hospital after four days and moved directly over to the Ronald McDonald house. And that (hopefully) brings the story up to where we started blogging.
Wednesday, February 7, 2007
Pictures, get your pictures. Get your red hot pictures!
by Grant
Ok, lots of pics. There are a few of this last weekend which I'll go ahead and post first.
Forrest & Titus laying on a
spare mattress in our room.
Tiny Hand. Liberty's me thinks
Rebekah holding someone
Ok, now these pics are yesterday afternoon. The first time I've held both of them
First I got to hold a wide-eyed Liberty
Then I got to hold them both.
Liberty was getting tired
ya know, I think I'll save the crib pics for later. I don't want to cause sensory overload.
Ok, lots of pics. There are a few of this last weekend which I'll go ahead and post first.
Forrest & Titus laying on a
spare mattress in our room.
Tiny Hand. Liberty's me thinks
Rebekah holding someone
Ok, now these pics are yesterday afternoon. The first time I've held both of them
First I got to hold a wide-eyed Liberty
Then I got to hold them both.
Liberty was getting tired
ya know, I think I'll save the crib pics for later. I don't want to cause sensory overload.
Craving Normalcy
by Grant
It's been awhile since I've posted anything. This week has been on a bit higher tempo for me primarily due to work. I didn't plan on coming down here until wednesday night but circumstances forced me to change my plans. I am glad that I came down because I got to see them take a bath, I got to hold both of them simultaneously, and I got to see them get moved into cribs. Pretty cool. But today Rebekah was talking to Forrest and he wouldn't believe that I was down here. I had told him prior that I would come home and read to him (something that I don't do far enough) and I really battled with guilt as my plans changed, but I thought that he'd barley notice. Well, needless to say, he did. He wouldn't believe Rebekah that I was "at the hotel" until I talked to him. When he realized that indeed, I was down there he was very upset. He started almost yelling/crying at the phone that he needed me. I couldn't understand a lot of what he was saying, but it was really breaking my heart. It's really hard in tough situations to not want to coddle children because they are innocent bystanders in all of this. I will be very grateful when I have my family all in one place. I will try to remember when I'm frustrated (in the future) to be thankful for happy and healthy children.
Today I met a young woman who is staying across the hall from us. She commented on me working out in the kitchen area. So we got to talking and her little girl had to have an operation to remove a tumor. The tumor was cancerous and so now the poor little girl has to start chemo and radiation. Talk about heart breaking. I am super grateful that we aren't in that situation. I'm sure that they would appreciate your prayers. The mom's name is Gretchen and the little girl (maybe 7?) is Jessica.
While on the subject of others at the Ronald McDonald house, we'd like to mention another family. Casey, Jenny, their little boy Colby, and their babies Adison and Breanna. Last name is withheld to protect the innocent. Jenny was pregnant with twins (in separate sacks) when her water broke on one of them @ 20 weeks. That's too young for a baby to survive so she was on bed rest until 24 weeks and then in Antepartum until approximately 26 weeks when they were born. Adison (which I'm probably spelling wrong) has done really well from the beginning. Breanna (she was the twin w/out amniotic fluid) has had a lot more troubles. I won't go into a lot of details, but suffice it to say they have had a really hard time as well. Adison is now out, but they don't know when Breana will be out. They also don't know if some of her complications caused more serious problems. So, if you've got a an in with the big guy upstairs, I know they'd appreciate a few words. The bible talks about the prayers of a fervent righteous man availeth much, but I'm sure it applies for women as well (unless you're a woman with the initials KBE).
I'll try to post the pictures tonight.
It's been awhile since I've posted anything. This week has been on a bit higher tempo for me primarily due to work. I didn't plan on coming down here until wednesday night but circumstances forced me to change my plans. I am glad that I came down because I got to see them take a bath, I got to hold both of them simultaneously, and I got to see them get moved into cribs. Pretty cool. But today Rebekah was talking to Forrest and he wouldn't believe that I was down here. I had told him prior that I would come home and read to him (something that I don't do far enough) and I really battled with guilt as my plans changed, but I thought that he'd barley notice. Well, needless to say, he did. He wouldn't believe Rebekah that I was "at the hotel" until I talked to him. When he realized that indeed, I was down there he was very upset. He started almost yelling/crying at the phone that he needed me. I couldn't understand a lot of what he was saying, but it was really breaking my heart. It's really hard in tough situations to not want to coddle children because they are innocent bystanders in all of this. I will be very grateful when I have my family all in one place. I will try to remember when I'm frustrated (in the future) to be thankful for happy and healthy children.
Today I met a young woman who is staying across the hall from us. She commented on me working out in the kitchen area. So we got to talking and her little girl had to have an operation to remove a tumor. The tumor was cancerous and so now the poor little girl has to start chemo and radiation. Talk about heart breaking. I am super grateful that we aren't in that situation. I'm sure that they would appreciate your prayers. The mom's name is Gretchen and the little girl (maybe 7?) is Jessica.
While on the subject of others at the Ronald McDonald house, we'd like to mention another family. Casey, Jenny, their little boy Colby, and their babies Adison and Breanna. Last name is withheld to protect the innocent. Jenny was pregnant with twins (in separate sacks) when her water broke on one of them @ 20 weeks. That's too young for a baby to survive so she was on bed rest until 24 weeks and then in Antepartum until approximately 26 weeks when they were born. Adison (which I'm probably spelling wrong) has done really well from the beginning. Breanna (she was the twin w/out amniotic fluid) has had a lot more troubles. I won't go into a lot of details, but suffice it to say they have had a really hard time as well. Adison is now out, but they don't know when Breana will be out. They also don't know if some of her complications caused more serious problems. So, if you've got a an in with the big guy upstairs, I know they'd appreciate a few words. The bible talks about the prayers of a fervent righteous man availeth much, but I'm sure it applies for women as well (unless you're a woman with the initials KBE).
I'll try to post the pictures tonight.
Sunday, February 4, 2007
Tag Team bedtime
by Grant
I never had any idea how important it was to maintain a routine for children until I had my own little ones. Naptimes, mealtimes, bedtimes--without consistency you may as well play polish roulette (put one bullet in the clip of a semi-automatic pistol, cock, put gun to head, pull trigger). This makes the weekends with the kids rather arduous at times. As long as I share the misery by bringing the kids down to see Rebekah though, I stay sane. Needless to say, she's somewhat happy to see us go so she can rest. Last night when we put the kids to bed, I told Rebekah that we should tag-team to prevent one of us from getting too frustrated. So, she'd watch the kids for 10-15 minutes and then I'd watch them for about 30 seconds. She'd watch them for 20 minutes, then I'd make it about 1 minute 20. And so on the night went. and went. and went. and <light snoring>....
huh? what? oh, yeah. and went. and went. and went. For over three hours. I think Forrest finally went to sleep about midnight. And it's not like he got to play around. He had to lay in his bed and not talk. He got frequent corrections. But he wasn't that sleepy for some reason. Anyway, it wouldn't be so bad if he'd sleep in but Titus takes care of that. I woke up this morning to see a beaming Ti-Ti (Tie-Tie) with his blanket staring at me. The small amount of noise generated as I tried to convince Titus to lay down in bed by me woke Forrest. And once again, the fun has begun. <cue fanfare>
I never had any idea how important it was to maintain a routine for children until I had my own little ones. Naptimes, mealtimes, bedtimes--without consistency you may as well play polish roulette (put one bullet in the clip of a semi-automatic pistol, cock, put gun to head, pull trigger). This makes the weekends with the kids rather arduous at times. As long as I share the misery by bringing the kids down to see Rebekah though, I stay sane. Needless to say, she's somewhat happy to see us go so she can rest. Last night when we put the kids to bed, I told Rebekah that we should tag-team to prevent one of us from getting too frustrated. So, she'd watch the kids for 10-15 minutes and then I'd watch them for about 30 seconds. She'd watch them for 20 minutes, then I'd make it about 1 minute 20. And so on the night went. and went. and went. and <light snoring>....
huh? what? oh, yeah. and went. and went. and went. For over three hours. I think Forrest finally went to sleep about midnight. And it's not like he got to play around. He had to lay in his bed and not talk. He got frequent corrections. But he wasn't that sleepy for some reason. Anyway, it wouldn't be so bad if he'd sleep in but Titus takes care of that. I woke up this morning to see a beaming Ti-Ti (Tie-Tie) with his blanket staring at me. The small amount of noise generated as I tried to convince Titus to lay down in bed by me woke Forrest. And once again, the fun has begun. <cue fanfare>
Saturday, February 3, 2007
Spells (no, Rebekah's not a witch)
by Grant
We've learned a whole lot about this business of multiples (any number of babies greater than one, which is called a singleton). The whole mo-mo thing (which I probably mentioned before) is about 1% of all twins. But, when you look at preemies in general, the majority of them are multiples. We've all heard about people with triplets and quads and the like, but the fact is, without an excellent health care system these babies would never survive. And until C-sections, the mother most likely would have died as well. Multiples, whether mo-mo or not, greatly increase the chances of premature birth. And so when you look at this experience, it has been ongoing since September (when we first found out). It's been a long road. I guess that at least we knew (intellectually at least) what was ahead. So, it's with that great prologue I get to the point of this blog--spells.
As I've mentioned previously, babies that are premature do not have fully developed brains. This means that occasionally, they stop breathing (or slow down). If not caught in time, this could lead to oxygen deprivation of the brain (brain damage). Thankfully, those cool gadgets that cost thousands (if not hundreds of thousands) are there to prevent this purpose. Below is an example of a De-Sat (desaturation) of oxygen. You can see how the oxygen level dropped rapidly and came back up, only to fall rapidly again. The number 98 is very good, but it's cause for concern when it dips below 85. At the lowest point it was almost down to 60 which is as low as I've ever seen it. You can also note a corresponding decrease in her heart rate (on the top). 160 is about average for a baby. When this spell begain, the nurse first waited to see if Serenity would recover on her own (she didn't), then the nurse rubbed Serenity's back. When her stats didn't improve, the nurse tried blowing oxygen in her face, followed by a large increase of oxygen delivered via Serenity's nasal cannula. I don't know how long this spell took, but it seemed like an eternity. Normally, the alarms in the room are pretty mild sounding, but as her vitals continued to drop the monitors started shrieking like a banshee. Thankfully, this pic is from earlier in the week (or possibly late last week) so they both have improved a lot.
Still Sane
by Grant
Prayer does work. But usually patience must accompany it. I brought the boys down to see Rebekah this morning. Sometimes I wonder how I get along without her. The answer is "very poorly." The boys are doing pretty well, but you can't let your guard down for a minute. I took a shower with Forrest this morning and while I was washing my hair (and my eyes were closed) he emptied an entire squeeze bottle of body wash. I didn't think that was possible. I mean, it's not like I"m a woman with three feet of hair that has to have each strand washed lovingly. I toss something that resembles soap in there, scrub around until it all feels about the same, and then rinse. No conditioner either. Right now thankfully, the character builders (buildees?) are asleep. So, a quick post and then I'm gonna do something I can't do when they're awake. Probably work. Sad, I know. But there are some parts of my job that are much more rewarding than others. We'll see.
Baby update:
The girl's spells are much less frequent. I'd gotten used to seeing their oxygen levels bounce all over, but ideally it won't fluctuate much at all. When I went over to see them, they had both been steady at 100. Of course, once I started dinking w/ Serentiy she started having little bumps, but that's normal. She only spelled once while I was there and she recovered pretty good. It may have also had something to do with the monitor shifting on her foot or something.
They're doing good on the 24 calorie so hopefully they'll bulk up here.
Rebekah went over to try nursing them. She's also going to get to bathe them (or at least watch).
Prayer does work. But usually patience must accompany it. I brought the boys down to see Rebekah this morning. Sometimes I wonder how I get along without her. The answer is "very poorly." The boys are doing pretty well, but you can't let your guard down for a minute. I took a shower with Forrest this morning and while I was washing my hair (and my eyes were closed) he emptied an entire squeeze bottle of body wash. I didn't think that was possible. I mean, it's not like I"m a woman with three feet of hair that has to have each strand washed lovingly. I toss something that resembles soap in there, scrub around until it all feels about the same, and then rinse. No conditioner either. Right now thankfully, the character builders (buildees?) are asleep. So, a quick post and then I'm gonna do something I can't do when they're awake. Probably work. Sad, I know. But there are some parts of my job that are much more rewarding than others. We'll see.
Baby update:
The girl's spells are much less frequent. I'd gotten used to seeing their oxygen levels bounce all over, but ideally it won't fluctuate much at all. When I went over to see them, they had both been steady at 100. Of course, once I started dinking w/ Serentiy she started having little bumps, but that's normal. She only spelled once while I was there and she recovered pretty good. It may have also had something to do with the monitor shifting on her foot or something.
They're doing good on the 24 calorie so hopefully they'll bulk up here.
Rebekah went over to try nursing them. She's also going to get to bathe them (or at least watch).
Friday, February 2, 2007
Stuff
by Grant
The girls are doing well. They bumped them up to 24 calories and they've started gaining weight again. Serenity is 3lbs 13 ozs. Liberty is 3lbs 8? I can't remember, but she gained too. Rebekah has been attempting to nurse them which is rather interesting. It feels a bit like they're rushing Rebekah (they being Dr.'s and nurses). So, Rebekah's stress level has gone up as she feels like she needs to be over there for most feedings. I'm gonna haul our boys down tomorrow which will probably increase her stress level some more, but nobody ever said that rearing children was easy.
I have some things to post, including my run in with a one pound hamburger (it won). But I'm gonna save them until I can do it up right. Hopefully I'll get some more pics and maybe a video. Life is so rushed now. Sometimes I think life can't get any busier. I have gotten to where I look forward to work so I can rest. That's pretty insane, because work is not restful. I am considering taking naps during my many meetings though. I got really good at sleeping while people were talking while I was at Bob Jones. I wonder if I'd start snoring though....
The girls are doing well. They bumped them up to 24 calories and they've started gaining weight again. Serenity is 3lbs 13 ozs. Liberty is 3lbs 8? I can't remember, but she gained too. Rebekah has been attempting to nurse them which is rather interesting. It feels a bit like they're rushing Rebekah (they being Dr.'s and nurses). So, Rebekah's stress level has gone up as she feels like she needs to be over there for most feedings. I'm gonna haul our boys down tomorrow which will probably increase her stress level some more, but nobody ever said that rearing children was easy.
I have some things to post, including my run in with a one pound hamburger (it won). But I'm gonna save them until I can do it up right. Hopefully I'll get some more pics and maybe a video. Life is so rushed now. Sometimes I think life can't get any busier. I have gotten to where I look forward to work so I can rest. That's pretty insane, because work is not restful. I am considering taking naps during my many meetings though. I got really good at sleeping while people were talking while I was at Bob Jones. I wonder if I'd start snoring though....
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